One can always visit the branch or call customer care for policy details and fill up a cheque re-issuance form along with the NEFT details for claiming the money
Close to Rs 15,167 crore of policyholders' money is lying unclaimed with life insurers today. Insurance is bought as a protection tool to be put to use in times of need. However, purchasing and paying the insurance premium goes waste owing to such misses. All policyholders need to keep the following points in mind ensuring that their insurance policies do not go unclaimed.
Update address, bank details
It is important to be careful while entering bank details, address, nominee and other communication details at the time of policy purchase. What is more important is to keep reviewing the policy documents and inform the insurance provider in case there is any change in the above information. Not updating these details may result in your family missing out on the claims payment.
Inform nominees and family members
Time and again there are situations wherein the family members are unaware of insurance policies purchased by the policyholder and remain deprived of insurance benefits. To avoid such situations, individuals should keep the nominee or the closest family member informed of the policy and relevant details. Basic details such as the insurance company's name, terms of insurance and broker information, if any, should be kept handy with near and dear ones. In case family members lack sufficient financial literacy or should one feel the need- inform your trusted friends.
Maintain policy documents carefully
At the time of claim, in addition to policy details, documents such as Aadhaar, PAN card, etc, are required. Make a separate folder containing these details that is easily accessible to you and your family members. The folder should preferably contain all your protection and investment details for easy reference in future.
Though maintaining hard copies of the records is advisable, in this time and age one can additionally maintain an excel sheet listing policy details. It can be shared with the next of the kin. Updating records online is always easy than hard copy, but much also depends on the ability of the individual and family members to access such documents.
Know the way out
To know if your policy is unclaimed, visiting the website of the insurance company. A separate window of 'unclaimed amount of policyholders' is provided to know any unclaimed amount. Enter the policy number, PAN, date of birth and Aadhaar number of the policyholder. One can always visit the branch or call customer care for policy details and fill up a cheque re-issuance form along with the NEFT details for claiming the money. One can also reach out to his/her agent or follow the steps on the website.
To realise the unclaimed amount, policyholders/dependants can approach the insurance company directly or through the agent. Ten years after the claim date, the unclaimed amount is transferred to the Senior Citizen's Welfare Fund (SCWF) and is kept there for 25 years. The positive part is that the money can be still claimed by the beneficiary until 25 years from the date of transfer to SCWF. Therefore, it is never too late for many people whose money might be still lying unclaimed.
The responsibility of an individual does not end with the purchase of a policy or by paying the premium. Becoming actively aware of the policy, keeping family members informed, maintaining a proper documentation and updating the information to the insurer goes a long way in preventing one's hard earned insurance policy from remaining unclaimed.
The writer is chief distribution officer, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance
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